Health Made Easy

Chronic fatigue is a debilitating chronic condition characterized by extreme physical and mental tiredness, which does not subside even after sleeping or resting. The severe fatigue can last for over six months.

There is no known test for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), and its diagnosis is based on a patient's symptoms after ruling out other conditions with similar symptoms, like depression, sleep disorder, or anemia. The unfortunate thing is that there is no proven cure for CFS, and most treatment only focuses on symptom relief. However, the good news is that natural remedies can help boost yourenergyfrom CFS symptoms.

How can I Combat Chronic Fatigue and RegainEnergy?

Although it may be complicated and overwhelming to cope with CFS, the following are some of the tips and strategies that can help you navigate and combat the illness and regainenergy.

Practice Good Sleep Hygiene:Start by improving your sleep quality by establishing a consistent sleep schedule, avoiding stimulants before bedtime, and creating a comfortable sleep environment to help you get enough rest and reduce fatigue.

Maintain a Healthy Weight:Obesity is a significant risk factor for CFS. Losing weight through exercise and a healthy diet can help improve sleep quality.

Avoid Alcohol and Sedatives:These substances can affect the quality of sleep that you get, resulting in CFS.

Elevate your Mood:Mental health is essential in elevating CFS, refocusing, and paying attention to the things that bring you joy. Instead of looking for information about CFS that inflicts more fear, you can divert your attention to exciting things that can help elevate or improve your mood, like physical activities.

Engage in Exciting Activities:Allow yourself to be carried away or absorbed in any activity you choose. Finding flow is effective in helping people recover from CFS and depression after allowing themselves to be immersed in the activities that interest them. Doing the things that bring you joy and fun speeds up the healing and recovery.

Brain retraining:Retraining your brain can entail following a systematic plan, compass, and road map to alleviate the symptoms of CFS and regainenergy. CFS makes you feel overwhelmed and overloaded; thus, the essence of brain retraining programs toward recovery is to relieve such burdens. Although the retraining may take time, the resulting change is incredible in managing CFS and regainingenergy.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT):CBT helps with energy management, where you receive advice on how to best utilize yourenergywithout worsening your CFS symptoms. In one study, standard CBT was an effective intervention for improving physical functioning and alleviating the aviation symptoms of CFS.

Seeking CFS Support!

Remember, it’s okay to seek professional help; everyone needs a helping hand once in a while. If you would like a more detailed explanation of CFS, its symptoms and treatment, and support in managing CFS and regainingenergy, we recommend talking to Dr. Jason Jones at our Chiropractic office in Elizabeth

If you have ever experienced chronic pain you know firsthand how difficult it can be to get a good night’s sleep. Sleep and pain appear to have a bidirectional relationship. For instance, many people say that their painful symptoms tend to be alleviated after a better night’s sleep. Therefore, if you are living with chronic pain, prioritizing sleep may significantly help in recovery.

What is Pain?

Pain is an unpleasant sensation that we experience when nerve receptors send a signal to the brain telling us something is wrong. Pain can be acute or chronic.

Acute pain refers to pain that lasts for a short time, such as a broken bone that eventually heals. Chronic pain refers to recurring pain or pain that lasts for longer than a few months, such as lower back pain, arthritis, recurrent headaches, cancer pain, or fibromyalgia.

Effects of Poor Sleep on Body Pain

There is an unquestionable link between sleep and pain, with research evidence showing that the effect of sleep on pain may be even stronger than the effect of pain on sleep.

Researchers found that poor sleep causes low levels of a neurotransmitter called N-arachidonoyl dopamine (NADA) within an area of the brain called the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN), resulting in heightened pain sensitivity, medically known as hyperalgesia.

The researchers explained that short sleep times, poor sleep quality, and fragmented sleep often cause increased sensitivity to pain in chronic conditions like rheumatoid arthritis.

People with sleep problems also appear to be at a higher risk of eventually developing conditions like migraines and fibromyalgia.

Sleep and pain appear to share similar pathways and neurotransmitters. Therefore, sleep deprivation affects the release of essential neurotransmitters and hormones involved in pain regulation, such as serotonin and cortisol, contributing to increased pain sensitivity.

Lack of sleep can also cause inflammation in the body, which will often result in muscle aches and pains and can exacerbate inflammatory conditions like arthritis.

Discover how improving your sleep can reduce body pain

Sleep quality and pain sensitivity have a significant correlation. Good sleep quality can help decrease pain sensitivity. Adequate sleep is essential for maintaining healthy pain processing in the brain reducing the risk of chronic pain conditions.

Sleeping better also helps the brain with its painkilling capabilities. Sleep is considered a natural analgesic that can help manage and lower pain.

During sleep, the brain undergoes important restorative processes necessary for pain modulation, reducing the risk of chronic pain conditions.

Therefore, addressing sleep quality can lead to better patient outcomes with reduced pain levels, improved physical function, and better mental health outcomes.

Contact Us for a Chiropractic Appointment

If muscle and joint pains are making it difficult for you to enjoy adequate sleep, chiropractic may help.

Your chiropractor will use a range of techniques, including massage, heat application, joint mobilization, exercises, and advice to improve circulation and healing in the affected areas and relieve muscle and joint pains.

Contact 252-335-2225 to schedule a visit with Dr. Jason B. Jones - 706 W. Ehringhaus Street - Elizabeth City, NC 27909.

Do your achy joints become more painful in cold weather? Well, you are not alone. Many people complain that during cold weather, especially during late fall and winter, they experience joint pain, especially in the hips, knees, and ankles. The question that arises then, is what is the cause of joint pain in the cold? To answer your questions, we have explored the scientific reasons for this kind of pain and given you applicable tips to help manage joint pain during colder months. Have a look!

Why Joint Pain Occurs Due To Cold Weather

Scientific evidence shows that joint pain feels worse in cold weather. When it is cold outside, nerves and blood vessels constrict in the arms and legs, decreasing blood flow and circulation to keep our inner core, heart, and organs, warmer. This causes our joints to become more stiff and painful.

A drop in atmospheric or barometric pressure may also increase joint pain for some people. Atmospheric or barometric pressure refers to the weightiness of air and decreases in cold weather. This drop in barometric pressure may cause your soft tissues to swell and put pressure on your joints, causing your nerves to transmit increased pain signals.

Also, when it is cold outside, people move around or exercise less, which can lead to a loss of muscle strength and flexibility and, therefore, more joint pain.

Another theory suggests that synovial fluid inside your joints thickens in cold temperatures, causing joint stiffness and pain in cold weather.

Tips to manage joint pain during colder months

Although the cold weather may make your joint pain feel worse, there are some things you can do that can help. Have a glance!

• Dress warmly: Layer clothing to stay warm and reduce exposure to the cold whether you are indoors or outdoors. Consider thermal underwear to protect your hips and knees, and insulated gloves to keep your hands and fingers warm. Also, don’t forget warm boots with good tread to prevent falls. While in the house, keep yourself warm and cozy.
• Regular exercise: It helps build up muscle and bone strength to help protect your joints. It also promotes better mobility by keeping your joints and muscles from becoming stiff. If you exercise outdoors, be sure to dress appropriately and stretch afterward.
• Maintain your weight: Cold and blustery outside can be tempting to coil up in a coach with a warm blanket enjoying your favorite snack and coffee. Pair these situations together, and you get weight gain. Unfortunately, weight gain puts added stress on already painful joints. It’s important to eat a balanced diet with a good check of fruits and veggies, and lean proteins to help maintain weight and promote joint health.

Besides keeping your weight in check, it also ensures your joints are getting the vitamins and minerals they need to stay strong. For achy joints, try incorporating foods that naturally contain anti-inflammatory properties like avocado, oily fish, nuts, garlic, and berries, to help reduce pain. Also, avoid unhealthy choices, such as processed foods, which can cause inflammation.

• Stay hydrated: The cold weather can easily tempt you to assume you do not need to take plenty of water. But remember, just because you are not hot and sweaty doesn’t mean that you are not losing fluids. Dehydration can increase sensitivity to aches and pain, reduce joint fluid lubrication, and cause muscle cramping.

Be sure to drink plenty of fluids, including water, naturally flavored water, or fruit juice. Warm soup and flavored tea also help with hydration.

If you find that cold weather significantly impacts your joint pain, speak to Dr. Jason Jones at our Chiropractic office in Elizabeth City, NC. You will get a proper diagnosis and a guide on developing a personalized treatment plan.

Sciatica refers to the nerve pain resulting from an injury or irritation to your sciatic nerve. Sciatica is not a condition, but rather a symptom of another problem involving the sciatic nerve.

The sciatic nerve is the longest and widest nerve in the human body. It runs from the lower back, through the buttocks, and down the legs, ending just below the knee.

The sciatic nerve controls several muscles in the lower legs and supplies sensation to the skin of the foot and the majority of the lower leg.
Causes of Sciatica

Sciatic nerve pain is often a result of a herniated disk in the spine. Other causes include bone spurs on the lower back bones, tumors, or nerves affected by another health issue.

Symptoms of Sciatica

Sciatica symptoms include:

• Pain: Sciatica pain is a result of pressure exalted on the affected nerve. Most people who have experienced sciatica pain describe it as burning or like an electric shock. The pain often shoots or radiates down the leg on the affected side.
• Numbness and tingling: It occurs when you can’t feel sensations on the skin in the affected areas of your back or leg. The numbness usually happens when you wake up or sit in one position for a long time.
• Muscle weakness: This is a more severe symptom. It means that muscle command signals are having trouble reaching their destinations in your back or legs.
• Urinary incontinence or fecal incontinence: This is a very severe symptom. It means that signals that control your bladder and bowels are not reaching their destinations.

Risk Factors for Sciatica

The common risk factors for sciatica include:

• History of back pain: A history of back pain or problems with the back may increase one’s risk of sciatica.
• Having excess weight or obesity: The more weight you have, the more your back muscles have to work to support the body weight. That can lead to back strains, pain, and other issues.
• Your job: Jobs that require heavy lifting, a lot of bending, or prolonged sitting without proper back support may increase your risk of lower back problems.
• Physical inactivity: Sitting for long periods and a lack of physical activity can increase the risk of sciatica.
• Normal wear-and-tear: As we get older, wear-and-tear is normal, especially on the spine which can lead to pinched nerves, herniated disks, and other conditions that increase the risk of sciatica.

How to Manage Sciatica Symptoms Effectively

Depending on the cause, milder cases of sciatica usually get better with self-treatment. Some of the applicable self-treatment include:

• Stretching and physical activity help strengthen the core muscles and reduce back pain.
• A home remedy that targets the use of ice during the first 1-2 days when pain first begins.
• Another practical home remedy is applying a heat pack to the area if the pain persists longer than 2 days.

Chronic sciatica pain can effectively be treated through chiropractic adjustments. Chiropractors use a special method called spinal manipulations where they gently move the vertebrae and joints back where they should be, using quick and soft thrusts. The adjustments and movements aim to fix the spine’s alignment, reducing pressure on the sciatic nerve for pain relief and allowing the body to recover. When the joint or vertebra returns to its proper place, inflammation decreases, and the healing starts.

Are you experiencing chronic sciatica pain? Start your chiropractic care today! Call 252-335-2225 to schedule a visit with Dr. Jason B. Jones - 706 W. Ehringhaus Street - Elizabeth City, NC 27909.

We all have experienced stress at one point in our lives. But, not everyone experiences it in the same way. Stress indeed takes a toll on our minds, but did you know that sometimes physical symptoms are your body’s way of telling you that your brain is under too much stress?

Stress and chronic pain have a complex relationship. At times, physical symptoms are not caused by any illness. Stress could be the underlying problem that needs to be addressed. Prolonged or unmanaged stress can wreak havoc on your body, resulting in body pains, aches, and other symptoms.

Understanding how stress can translate into physical pain.

When we experience stress, the body releases hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol. Adrenaline initiates the “fight or flight” response that leads to increased blood supply and tightened muscles in preparation for reacting to the stressor. Cortisol shuts down systems that aren’t essential for fight or flight, such as the digestive and reproductive systems.

When the stress is gone, the body automatically resumes normal operation. But if you regularly feel stressed out, overexposure to adrenaline and cortisol can lead to muscle tension, aches and spasms. With time, stress also impacts the nervous system. Frequent pain signals sent to the brain causes it to start processing pain even when there are fewer stimuli. Ideally, the body becomes more sensitive to pain.

Common Physical Manifestations of Stress

At times you may not know that you are stressed but your body could be sending you signs that it’s time to address your stress. Some of the physical manifestations of stress to look out for include:

• Muscle aches and pains

When you experience stress, your muscles tend to tense up. As a result, you may experience pain, tightness, or soreness in your muscles, as well as spasms of pain. This may lead to flare-ups of symptoms of arthritis, fibromyalgia, and other conditions because stress lowers your threshold for pain. When that stress is managed, your muscles release the tension.

• Gut discomfort

Have you ever experienced a stomachache from being so stressed out? While stress can have a real impact on your digestive system. It can range from simple symptoms like pain, constipation, gas, and diarrhea to more complex conditions like acid reflux and irritable bowel syndrome. This is because, when you are stressed, you may tend to eat more or less, which can lead to unhealthy diets affecting your gut.

• Shoulders, head, and jaw pain

Stress can affect your body through the tension triangle, which includes your shoulders, head, and jaw. Stress can trigger tension headaches, tightness in the neck and jaw, and knots and spasms in your neck and shoulders.

• Reproductive health

Ever wonder why your period might sometimes skip a month or come a week later? Or why you are experiencing decreased sex drive, erectile dysfunction, and irregular menstrual cycles. There can be a range of reasons for this, but stress can be a contributing factor. Over time, stress disrupts the body’s hormonal balance resulting in irregularities.

• Skin and hair

Your skin and hair are also not immune to the effects of stress. If you have a skin condition like eczema, psoriasis, or rosacea, stress can make it worse. It can also lead to hives and itchiness, excessive sweating, and hair loss.

When to seek help

Practicing self-care is always a good strategy. But at times, you may need more support. If something doesn’t feel right or you have questions about how to manage stress in positive ways, talk to Dr. Jason Jones at our Chiropractic office in Elizabeth City, NC.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a condition that affects one of the primary nerves in the wrist area. The carpal tunnel is a narrow passageway surrounded by bones and ligaments on the palm side of the hand. The leading cause of carpal tunnel syndrome is extra pressure on the median nerve at the wrist inside the tunnel. The extra pressure can come from swelling or inflammation of the contents inside the tunnel. Carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms include wrist pain, numbness, tingling, and weakness.

To better understand carpal tunnel syndrome and how to ease it, it’s essential to start by understanding the risk factors that increase the chances of irritation or damage to the median nerve. They include:

• Anatomic factors: When you have a wrist fracture or dislocation or arthritis that deforms the small bones in the wrist, you may experience an alteration in the space within the carpal tunnel and put pressure on the median nerve. Similarly, people who have smaller carpal tunnels are more susceptible to carpal tunnel syndrome.
• Gender: Women are more prone to carpal tunnel syndrome as compared to men. This is because women have a relatively more minor carpal tunnel area than men.
• Inflammatory conditions: People with rheumatoid arthritis and other conditions that have inflammatory components are more susceptible to carpal tunnel syndrome. This is because they affect the lining around the tendons in the wrist and put pressure on the median nerve.
• Nerve-damaging conditions: Certain chronic diseases like diabetes increase the risk of nerve damage, including damage to the median nerve.
• Obesity: Being obese increases the risk factor for carpal tunnel syndrome.
• Body fluid changes: Fluid retention may increase pressure within the carpal tunnel, irritating the median nerve. It is prevalent during pregnancy and menopause.
• Workplace factors: Working with vibrating tools that require prolonged or repetitive wrist flexing may create harmful pressure on the median nerve, especially when working in cold environments.

Easing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Although there are no proven strategies to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome, you can apply various measures to help ease and minimize pressure on the hands and wrists. These methods are approved by chiropractic care. Have a look!

• Reduce your force and relax your grip: If your work involves typing using a keyboard, hit the keys softly. Consider using a big pen with an oversized, soft grip adapter and free-flowing ink when engaged in prolonged handwriting.
• Keyboard and mouse position: Avoid bending your wrist up or down. Ensure you maintain a relaxed middle position by keeping your keyboard at elbow height or slightly lower.Also ensure that your mouse is in a comfortable position to avoid straining your wrist.
• Improve your posture: Poor posture affects the wrists, fingers and hands. Ensure you are comfortable and not straining.
• Keep your hands warm: Cold environments may trigger your hands to hurt more. Try to control the temperatures by wearing warm gloves.
• Physical therapy: It helps strengthen muscles around your wrist and increase flexibility.

It’s essential to ensure you get diagnoses and treatment to avoid permanent damage to your median nerve. Our chiropractic treatment will walk with you through the carpal tunnel syndrome recovery journey and offer therapy sessions and the best guide. Our professional chiropractors will focus on gentle manipulation of the wrist and elbow to help ease the pain.

To get more details on our chiropractic practices focused on carpal tunnel syndrome, contact Dr. Jason Jones at our Chiropractic office in Elizabeth City, NC.

Most of us think of migraine as a bad headache. But the truth is it is more than just a bad headache. A migraine is a severe headache that can cause debilitating, throbbing, one-sided head pain that can leave you in bed for days. The headache phase of a migraine usually lasts at least four hours, but it can also last for days. Triggers like loud noises, bright lights, strong odors, and physical activities can worsen this headache, causing symptoms like vision changes, fatigue, irritability, and nausea. People who have suffered from migraine say that it is disruptive and can interfere with your daily routine and affect your ability to meet personal and social obligations.

Once diagnosed with migraine, most people turn to medication since it is a proven way to treat and prevent migraines. But the truth is, medicine is only part of the story. It is also important to consider lifestyle choices to promote your overall good health, as they also help reduce the number of migraines you have and lessen the migraine pain. You can combine medicine with behavioral measures and lifestyle to help handle migraines.

To help you start your journey of managing migraines, we have prepared the best recommendations on lifestyle choices. So relax, and read on!

• Healthy Eating Habits

The importance of healthy eating habits cannot be overlooked. Besides improving your overall well-being, healthy eating significantly impacts your migraines. Consider the following basics:

• Eat healthy foods: Most processed and sugar-added foods like chocolate, cheese, caffeine, and alcohol may trigger migraines. Focus on healthy and natural foods,
• Maintain an eating schedule: Avoid skipping meals, as this increases the risk of migraines.
• Be consistent: Eat at about the same time every day.

• Exercise regularly

Engaging in physical activity helps your body release chemicals that block brain pain signals. These chemicals also help reduce anxiety and depression, which worsen migraines.

Obesity also increases the risk of chronic headaches. You can maintain a healthy weight through exercise and a healthy diet, which provides additional benefits in managing migraines.

With the help of your healthcare provider, choose any exercise you enjoy, like walking, cycling, or swimming. But always ensure you ease into exercise gradually, as vigorous exercise may trigger migraines.

• Manage stress

I understand that it’s not possible to avoid daily stress altogether, but you need to keep it under control to help manage your migraines. Some of the tips you can apply include:

• Simplify your life: Busy work and home engagement are common trends in most of our lives. We are sometimes forced to find ways to squeeze more activities or chores into the day. But this only increases our pressure and stress. Instead of squeezing more work into yourself, try to delegate what you can and divide large projects into manageable chunks.
• Time management: Maintaining an updated to-do list at work and home helps reduce the pressure of undone activities or chores.
• Take a break: Don’t allow busy schedules to keep you glued to your seat at work or engaged with home chores all day. Always take a few slow stretches or a quick walk to renew your energy.
• Develop a positive attitude: Always stay positive.
• Enjoy yourself: Find a hobby and focus on doing it for at least 15 minutes daily. Doing something you enjoy is a natural way to combat stress.

• Sleep well

We cannot underestimate the power of good sleep. Migraines can keep you from falling asleep or wake you up at night. Likewise, poor night’s sleep also triggers migraines. Always ensure you establish regular sleep hours, lessen distractions in your bedroom, and don’t try so hard to sleep when you can’t. When you can’t sleep, read or do a quiet activity until you become drowsy.

• Calm environment

Always ensure your environment is calm to avoid migraine triggers. Ensure the lights are not too bright and the music is not too loud.

Navigating Through Migraines

We understand that living with migraines is a daily challenge. But making healthy lifestyle choices can help. Chiropractic care is a drug-free, holistic approach to healing where we help you develop a strategy to achieve true wellness. Our chiropractic treatment is packaged to offer you new to navigate through migraines and help you live better for longer.

If migraines have taken a toll on your body, consider contacting Dr. Jason Jones at our Chiropractic office in Elizabeth City, NC, for support and counseling.

Living a sedentary lifestyle has become a norm for most of us. The truth is we spend most of our days sitting. Whether in an office, working from home, commuting or just relaxing on the couch scrolling through social media, most of us are barely up and moving like we should be. But one thing we need to know is that the sedentary lifestyle we have adopted has dire health consequences. Prolonged sitting can lead to adverse outcomes. Have a look at some of the hidden dangers of sitting too long;

• Loss of strength and flexibility

When you sit for too long, your muscles and joints remain stationary, which can result in a loss of strength and flexibility due to inactivity. Prolonged periods of sitting in a chair can also lead to passive back muscle stiffness.

• Increased risk of chronic diseases

Remaining in a sedentary position for too long hinders your muscles’ ability to regulate cholesterol and blood sugar levels. This results in chronic inflammation, which is linked with health issues and chronic diseases like diabetes, certain types of cancer, and cardiovascular disease.

• Weight gain

Sitting too long can also increase your risk of gaining weight. Research shows that sedentary behavior is linked to increased cases of obesity. Moving your muscles helps your body digest the fats and sugars you eat. When you spend too long sitting, digestion becomes inefficient, and you retain those fats and sugars as fat in your body.

Some would argue that they counter weight gain risk by exercising. The unfortunate thing is that you are, however, risking health problems like metabolic syndrome.

• Mental health effects

Too much sitting has been directly linked to mental health struggles. Research shows that a sedentary lifestyle of sitting for more than eight hours a day can increase the risk of developing depression and anxiety. When you are physically active, your brain releases serotonin, which helps boost your mood. Less movement means less serotonin is released, contributing to depression.

• Back strain

A seated position stresses your back muscles, neck, and spine. It even gets worse when you slouch. Getting an ergonomic chair is a good idea, but remember, no matter how comfortable you get, your back still does not need long sitting sessions.

• Deep vein thrombosis

Sitting for too long can cause deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which refers to the blood clot that forms in the veins of your leg. DVT can be severe, especially when part of a blood clot in the leg vein breaks off and travels, cutting off the blood flow to other parts of the body like lungs, resulting in pulmonary embolism. This is a medical emergency that can result in significant complications or even death.

Combat the Perils of Prolonged Sitting

That was a whole lot of not-so-great news. But the good news is that you can counter some of these adverse effects. Some practical tips include;

· Walk or cycle, and leave the car at home

· Walk to a colleague’s desk instead of emailing or calling

· Take the stairs and walk up the escalators

· Take a walk break during your coffee or tea break

· Watch TV while standing

Are you already suffering the effects of sitting too long? All hope is not lost. Chiropractic treatment will help you in your recovery journey. The first step is to diagnose any effects like health issues and mental illness. We will then focus on spinal adjustment where our experienced chiropractors will offer gentle, hands-on adjustments to help release the tension caused by compressed nerves. We will then walk you through better schedules to reduce sitting for long and combat the perils of prolonged sitting.

For more guidance on the hidden dangers of sitting for too long and how to combat the perils of prolonged sitting, contact Dr Jason Jones at our Chiropractic office in Elizabeth City, NC.

Is the phrase “Stand up straight” familiar to you? Whether we realize it or not, we sometimes feel guilty about poor posture. Many of us slouch more than we should following fatigue after a long day, poorly designed workspaces, a challenging workout at the gym, or just a bad night of sleep. Anytime you are not standing or sitting straight and engaging your muscles, when your shoulders are rounded, or you are not holding your neck high, you are portraying signs of bad posture.

But do you realize that there are several adverse effects that poor posture can have on your body? Here is an outline of some consequences of poor posture and how Chiropractic can help you make positive changes. Have a glance!

• Lower back pain

Lower back pain is a common side effect of poor posture. When you consistently slouch, you place excessive pressure on the muscles and structures of the lower back. This strain can increase pressure on the lumbar spine, causing muscle imbalances and spinal misalignment. With time, these factors contribute to chronic lower back pain.

• Shoulder pain

Shoulder pain is also a common consequence of bad posture. When you persistently maintain poor posture, you strain the muscles, tendons and ligaments that surround the shoulders. The strain later results in muscle imbalances, tension, and limited range of motion in the shoulder joint. These factors later contribute to chronic shoulder pain.

• Headache

Poor posture increases strain on your neck and upper back muscles, resulting in tension headaches. Also, poor posture restricts blood flow and oxygen delivery to the brain, further exacerbating headache symptoms.

• Spine curvature

An adequately aligned spine has three main curves, which form an ‘S’ shape and help absorb shock. Poor posture can cause these natural curves to change shape, putting excessive pressure on the wrong position. This slowly reduces the spine’s ability to absorb shock, placing the body at risk of more severe injuries in the future.

• Digestive problems

A bad posture can compress the abdominal organs, affecting their optimal function. Disrupting the digestive process leads to issues like indigestion, acid reflux, bloating and constipation.

• Increased stress and low mood

Poor posture harms our mental health. Slouching or adopting a hunched position increases feelings of stress and fatigue and contributes to low self-esteem and a negative emotional state.

The Transformative Power of Posture

Understanding the impact of poor posture helps us make positive changes in our daily lives. When you prioritize good posture, maintain proper alignment, and be mindful of your body positioning, you will quickly mitigate these effects and improve your overall well-being.

If you are already suffering the consequence of poor posture, you need not worry because, chiropractic treatment offered by our experienced professionals will provide a thorough assessment to diagnose your condition accurately. Our experienced chiropractors will show you how to decrease any form of pain and help strengthen weak muscles. Once the muscles are stronger, we will improve our range of motion. We also focus on educating our patients with self-management techniques that help reduce the chances of injury reoccurrence through proper sitting and standing techniques.

Start your chiropractic care today and enjoy the transformative power of posture we offer! Call 252-335-2225 to schedule a visit with Dr. Jason Jones - 706 W. Ehringhaus Street - Elizabeth City, NC 27909.

There have been a lot of controversial knowledge versions from different researchers on protein. The layman is often left at the crossroads on whether protein is harmful to our health, how much of it is adequate for a day, or whether to abandon animal protein and depend on plant proteins. While the body can manufacture some of the 21 amino acids, the essential category must come from the food we eat.

 Some researchers have demonized protein citing the following reasons.

•         High consumption of protein increases one’s risk for diabetes.

•         High-protein diets hasten puberty and are associated with breast cancer among girls.

•         Protein is associated with health conditions, including heart disease, cancer, and obesity.

•         Eating red and processed meat products regularly accelerates the risks for cancer, premature death, unhealthy weight gain, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.

•         Proteins contain high levels of specific amino acids such as methionine (BCAAs) that may harm metabolism, thus affecting an organism’s longevity and health metabolic reactions.

•         Eating more proteins is harmful to kidney health.

•         High consumption of proteins may lead to low bone density.

Does protein have detrimental health effects?

Despite the many misconceptions about protein, there is no adequate scientific evidence to support the claims that protein is indeed harmful to human health. The reasons some researchers may be wrong to have demonized protein include the following.

•         Although it is helpful to restrict protein consumption among those with preexisting kidney issues, there is no empirical proof of the association between kidney damage and protein consumption among healthy individuals.

•         Various studies indicate that consuming more protein lowers blood pressure and helps suppress diabetes, which is both kidney disease risk factors.

•         There is scientific evidence that protein intake, along with other nutrients such as calcium and vitamin D, helps prevent osteoporosis.

•         While blaming protein for conditions such as cardiovascular disease, unhealthy weight gain, obesity, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and cancer, the researchers have not considered other underlying issues that may lead to similar conditions. The real culprits could be excessive added sugar consumption, saturated fat, genetic disorders, lifestyle, and other factors.

•         Only particular protein sources such as processed meat products are linked with increased risk for cancer.

•         In health promotion and disease prevention, what matters is nutrient density and overall quality rather than the exact macronutrient content.

•         Studies linking higher intakes of protein to increased risks for certain health conditions are not clear whether the researchers considered other factors such as age, individual body weight, physical activity, body composition goals, body weight, and special conditions, such as pregnancy and illness.

Generally, there is no adequate scientific evidence that protein is harmful to human health. Moreover, studies suggest that the protein package rather than the absolute quantity matters in human metabolism and overall well-being. Certain proteins, such as red and processed meat products harm our health. However, we can choose healthy proteins from poultry, eggs, seafood, dairy products, and plant sources such as legumes, whole grains, beans, nuts, and seeds.

You may consult Dr. Jason Jones at our Chiropractic office in Elizabeth City, NC, to learn more on why protein is demonized by some researchers and why they are wrong.